On Tuesday, President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address and spent a good portion of his remarks bragging about his extreme agenda of attacking constitutional rights, smearing immigrants, and empowering the top one percent. It is fairly easy to say that President Trump failed America during his first year in office. And it’s not just him.
President Trump’s cabinet members have already caused more than enough damage to our nation. From shattering immigrant families and attacking communities of color to threatening women’s health and undermining educational institutions, President’s Trump’s cabinet is clearly unfit to lead our nation to a brighter and more prosperous future. Additionally, the cabinet itself does not reflect the diversity of our society today. President’s Trump’s cabinet largely consists of wealthy white men who care more about their own personal interests than what benefits the American people.
However, there is still hope.
On Monday, at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., a group of diverse and young elected officials came together to present a forward-thinking vision of what America is, and what it could be, here at home and around the world. This group is called America’s Cabinet.
A nonpartisan initiative of the Young Elected Officials Network (YEO), America’s Cabinet consists of 19 young local and state elected officials from across the country who represent a wide range of races, ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations. These cabinet members have been pushing the envelope and fighting for their communities on the state and local levels for years. These are proven leaders who have created the first free city college in the country, passed legislation to protect immigrants, improved police-community relations, and fought to safeguard our environment.
“The history of this country is marked by pilgrims seeking the right to worship, slaves seeking freedom, women seeking the right to vote, and immigrants like myself seeking the right to join American society and provide for themselves and their families – all while enriching this great nation along the way,” said Minnesota State Representative and Secretary of Homeland Security for America’s Cabinet Ilhan Omar at the launch event. “I know that there are Americans who have genuine concerns about protecting our security at home, and as someone who has experienced the terror and uncertainty of war firsthand, I hold those concerns close to my heart. But giving in to fear has never made us, or anyone, safer.”
Members of America’s Cabinet are ready to take action to move our country forward and provide policy solutions to the challenges that impact Americans every day. “As a member of the Appropriations Committee in Michigan helping to craft the state’s $54 billion budget, as a small business owner, and as someone who has seen the impact that the declining manufacturing has on our communities, I’m ready to offer Secretary Mnuchin a few ideas on how to make our budget work for working people,” said Michigan State Representative and Secretary of the Treasury for America’s Cabinet Jon Hoadley.
Baltimore City Councilman and America’s Cabinet’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Brandon Scott shared a new vision for HUD: “Instead of trying to police our way out of the problem, imagine HUD allowing cities and organizations to use federal funding for public health approaches to reduce violence in public housing neighborhoods.”
For more details about America’s Cabinet from the cabinet members themselves, listen to our member telebriefing here:
During these tumultuous times, we should remember that what is happening in Washington D.C. is not the full picture. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to be engaged with our state and local elected officials who are fighting day and night to protect our rights and create needed policy change. That is exactly what members of America’s Cabinet are here to do.